The world of Krat is a nightmare. It’s a city where beautiful clockwork puppets suddenly turned into bloodthirsty killing machines, and most players spend their time trying not to get flattened by a giant circus master or a swamp monster. But among all the gears and the blood, there is a smaller, more intimate story that hits harder than any boss fight. I'm talking about Lea Lies of P—the woman you find in the Venigni Works who represents the sheer, crushing weight of the puppet frenzy.
Honestly, if you were sprinting through the factory just trying to survive the fire-breathing robots, you might have walked right past her. That's a mistake. Her story isn't just "flavor text." It’s the emotional core of the game’s philosophical debate. Can a puppet really love? Or are they just mimicking the biological impulses of the people they replaced?
Who Is Lea in Lies of P?
You’ll find her near the entrance of the Venigni Works, specifically by the "Entrance" Stargazer. She’s slumped against a wall, clearly in distress, and she asks you for a favor. She wants to see her partner, a puppet named Julian. This is where things get weird, even for a game about a magical wooden boy.
See, Lea is human. Julian is a puppet. In the world of Krat, this kind of relationship was considered a massive taboo, something spoken of in whispers if at all. People thought it was creepy. They thought it was unnatural. But to Lea, it was the only real thing left in a world falling apart.
When you first talk to her, she’s desperate. She gives you a wedding ring—a physical piece of evidence of a bond that the Grand Covenant (the laws governing puppets) wasn't supposed to allow. She’s sick, she’s tired, and she’s dying. It’s grim. It’s Lies of P.
The Quest for Julian the Gentleman
You find Julian further into the factory. He’s standing over a body. It’s a quiet, haunting moment that contrasts sharply with the frantic combat elsewhere. When you talk to him, he’s grieving. He asks you if you believe that a puppet and a human can truly be in love.
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This is one of the game's famous "Lie or Truth" moments.
If you tell him "I've never heard of such a thing," you’re being technically "truthful" based on the world's common knowledge, but you’re being a jerk. If you lie and say "I love her," or "I believe you," you gain Humanity. This is a crucial mechanic. In Lea Lies of P lore, your response determines Pinocchio's growth. Choosing the compassionate lie suggests that Pinocchio is starting to understand the complexity of the human heart—something that isn't found in a manual.
Why Lea and Julian Matter for the Story
Most Soulslikes use NPCs as simple quest markers. Neowiz did something different here. They used Lea to challenge the player's perception of the puppets. Up until this point, the puppets are just monsters. They’re scrap metal. But Julian’s devotion to Lea proves that the "Petrification Disease" and the Ergo that powers these machines have a metaphysical side.
Ergo is basically crystallized human memories and souls.
When a puppet like Julian "loves" Lea, is it the machine malfunctioning? Or is it the soul trapped inside the Ergo reaching out for connection? This is the central mystery of Lea Lies of P. If Julian has a soul, then the "Puppet Frenzy" isn't just a glitch—it’s a tragedy of cosmic proportions. It means every puppet you’ve broken down for parts might have had a flickering consciousness inside.
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The Ring and the Wedding
The wedding ring you retrieve is more than a quest item. It’s an "Engagement Ring" with a description that explicitly mentions the bond between the two. Bringing it back to the grieving party doesn't result in a happy ending. There are no happy endings in Krat. But it provides a sense of closure.
It’s about dignity.
By acknowledging their love, Pinocchio validates their existence. It’s a tiny victory against a cold, industrial world that wants to reduce everyone—human or puppet—to a resource.
Technical Tips for Completing the Lea and Julian Quest
If you’re trying to 100% the game or get the "Real Boy" or "Rise of P" endings, you cannot skip this. Here is the straightforward way to handle it without overcomplicating things:
- Locate Julian: He is near the Venigni Works Control Room. Look for the well-dressed puppet standing near a corpse.
- The Dialogue: He will ask if you think their love was possible.
- The Lie: To gain Humanity (and work toward the best ending), tell him you believe it. Specifically, the option is often phrased as "I saw the message she left, she said she loved you."
- The Reward: You get the Wedding Ring and the "Sad" gesture. The gesture is actually useful for other secrets later in the game, like interacting with certain statues.
Don't forget to read the item description of the ring after the quest. It adds a layer of sorrow that the dialogue misses. It's the "show, don't tell" style of storytelling that makes the Lea Lies of P interaction so memorable for fans of the genre.
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The Impact on Your Humanity Score
Lies of P doesn't have a visible "Humanity Meter," but you can tell where you stand by the messages you get at Stargazers. Phrases like "Your springs are reacting" or "You feel warmth" indicate you’re becoming more human.
Interacting with Lea and Julian is one of the earliest ways to jumpstart this process. If you want the "Golden Lie" weapon at the end of the game, you basically have to be nice to people like Julian. You have to recognize their pain. It’s a clever bit of ludonarrative harmony; the game rewards you for being empathetic in a world that rewards violence.
What Most People Get Wrong About Lea
There’s a common misconception that Lea is just a "crazy lady" who fell in love with a toaster. That’s a shallow take. If you look at the lore surrounding the Alchemists and Simon Manus, you realize that the boundaries between biological life and Ergo-powered life are almost non-existent.
Lea wasn't delusional.
She was a pioneer. She saw the "human" inside the puppet before anyone else did. In a way, she is the mirror image of Sophia or Antonia. She represents the bridge between the old world and whatever terrifying thing Krat is turning into.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
To get the most out of the Lea Lies of P storyline and ensure you don't miss the rewards associated with it, follow these steps immediately upon reaching the factory:
- Talk to every NPC twice. Especially in the Venigni Works. Dialogue often changes after the initial greeting, and you might miss the trigger for the ring quest if you just run past.
- Check your Gestures. After completing the quest, go to a quiet spot and use the "Sad" gesture. It’s one of the requirements for unlocking specific interactions with the NPCs back at Hotel Krat.
- Examine the Ring. Don't just let it sit in your inventory. Reading the lore tabs on quest items in Lies of P is how you piece together the timeline of the frenzy.
- Choose the Lie. Unless you are specifically going for a "No Humanity/Truth" run for the "Free from the Puppet String" ending, always choose the empathetic lie. It’s the only way to access the game’s most powerful weapons and the most emotional ending.
The story of Lea and Julian isn't just a side quest. It is a microcosm of the entire game. It asks the question: what defines a person? Is it the flesh and bone, or the ability to feel loss? By the time you leave the Venigni Works, you’ll likely have your answer. Krat is a graveyard of puppets, but it's also a graveyard of stories just like Lea's—forgotten, tragic, and deeply human.